Rotary asphalt cutter



Patented sept. 15, *1925.

nofrAnY 'ASPHALT Curran.

sppnaun `and my 2a, m2o.' fserial No. 385,044;

To all whom ity may concern.'

Be it known a citizen of Buffalo, iny the that yI, FRANK V. El Bannon,

the UnitedV States,presiding at county ofiEm'e andy State of 5 New-York, have inventednew and useful Improvements in Rotary Asphalt which the followingis a specification.

This inventi chinev for cutting street payements,'for thepurpose fof removon e relates to 'i a portable maf grooves or f slits inll asphalt ing-badparts or worn-out patchesin the sarna4 preparat by filling the sami machineffis'also A f rectangular sections j of asphalt pavement preparatory to for the purpo pipesor electric conduits and is also kadapted grind oil"` uneven lumps or protuberances whichproject from thepavement' i to trimcor to repairing said i patches lwithnewasphalt. The adapted for cutting long,

kdigging aItr'enchV inthe same se of burying.,v water orv jgas or Vthe curbing'whichl bounds the same, or

from e paving stones suchasare used adjacent 4to'y the Streetcar tracks of municipal street railways. f

It-is'thefobject of the 'invention to pro- 'duceay machine whereby thiswork maybe accomplished all yleteV rotary vasphalt cutter.

ragmentalfy f quickly?, easily, economically A t L vwith a vm-inimum expenditure of manual labor.; f '1 f y f f lntheaccompanying drawings :l

aside elevation of the crom- Figure 2 1s a verticalk 'transverse section thereof' taken online'fQ-Q, Figjl.4 Figure Orresponding views.

3 is a horizontal` section thereofY taken' on parts throughout thef'severa'l The working `parts of this asphalt( cutter are mounted on a wheeled carriage or truck whereby ,the samel may betransported from the work to yof this carriage *may struction but,

another, and also along the planty or storage ,place to the job where be also from one job to thenasphalty ave- Thefmain n rame `be of any ysuitableconin its 'preferred lform,j.the

done',

to be `out;

samefas shownk inthe drawings, com rises i main ylongitudinal beams `or sil s 10` 10 `and 100 ...whichextend the 4full lengthof thel machine;l lwhichannet sllls ya compar two transverse sills, 11, 1l

opposite ends of thefmain atively long,v transverse sill 12 and 1730 which extend across Cutters, of

V,'.lhi's platform also carries a which extends the full width adjacent' tothe'front'end thereof; and a pair of intermediate, shorter 'transverse sills 13 the-machine between thevintermediate longitudinal sill 100 'and oneof the side llongitudinal sills 10. At the rear end of the machine is preferably arrangeda` small platform 14 which is suitably bolted to the upper faces of the rear sills and which'is adapted to carry the various'paraphernalia (not shown) such as the tool box, ignition apparatus, spare engine parts, etc., with which these machines are usually equipped whenthey go outgon a job.

suitableseat 15 upon which the operator sits while operating the machine.l The rolling support for this frame preferably vcomprises two front tractionwheels'l, 16, whichare comparatively large in diameter and each of which 1s arranged bctweenthefront part of one of the. main longitudinal sills 10 and a short,

vsupplemental longitudinal lsill 17, each of f parts ofthe respective main sills 10 and i auxiliary'sills 17 and is centrally preferably provided with a differential gearing 20,7so as'to permit the whole machine to be moved aboutwith reat freedom; VUnderneath the rearp'art o? the main frame is arranged a Steering wheel 21 which is comparatively small in diameter and has its'horizontal axle or -pintle :22 journaled in bearings at the lower end of a fork 23 which latter is secured tothe lowerend of an vupright steering post or shaft' 24. The latter is journaled inV an upright bearing 25 on the ladjacent part of the main frame and isprovided at its upper end with or tiller 26 whereby this'shaft vand the steeringwheel 21` may be turned by the Operator for ydirecting theY course Vwhich the "wheeled carriage or-truckshould take over the sur- 'the joband to different places about the job.

the' carriage may be propelled a steering arm c l Also mounted on this frame is the mechanism which is adapted to cutror grind off the surface of the asphalt, curbing'or roadway. The means for propelling the carriage and controlling'its movementsmay be' vari` 1 .This prime mover4 preferably consists'of an explosive, hydrocarbon engine, although any other, suitable motor may v"be employed for this purpose. f On the main longitudinal driving vshaft of this engineis arranged a highspeed driving sprocket wheel y30, which drives a high speed jack shaft 31 through a. high speed chain belt 32. This jack shaftmay be coupled up to the main propeller shaft 33 of the machine by shifting a Yhigh speedV` lever 34 Vwhich is adapted to throw a toothed clutch 35i into or out of engagement with `a companion toothed clutchmounted on the propeller-shaft 33, thisclutch being adapted to be coupled up, for instance, when the whole machine is to travel. at high speed from the plant tothe job where it is to be employed.` Eorward slowspeed and reverse speed is controlled by a pair of control levers 36V and 360 which are adapted toy operate 'to contract suitablel brake' bands of a planetary transmission gear housingV 3 7, while the degree ofor amount ofvspeedis controlled by a speed control lever 38 which operatesto shift a frictionally driven wheel 40 toward or from the aXisiof. a large, disk, friction-driving wheel41 which is secured vto the front, stub shaft 42 ofthe planetary transmission housing A smalh remote lever 43 is pivoted to the main frame of .the machine adjacent to this transmission housing and operates to disconnect or unclutch the stub shaft. 42from the transmission when the high speed toothedl clutch 35 isin 'engagement and when also, of course, the friction wheels 40 and 41 are thereby renderedinoperative. When, however, the toothed clutch 35 is disengaged `and the remote lever 43 is 'thrown to its engaged position, then the poweris transmitted through thesaid friction wheels40 and 41 and thence to a. transverse shaftg45which operatesto drive the propeller. shafttl through the medium of a worm 46, saidtransverse shaft 45Abeing suitably journaled in bearings secured tothe main frame" of the lmachineQ Journaled transversely on the main frame ofthe machine` at fone of the 'front corners thereof, are a pairof heavy," co'aXial cutter frame shafts 47 and 470,'the inner cutter .plane relatively to the main is secured to said frame shaft 47 0 being supported in bearings secured to the inner supplemental sill 17 and the inner longitudinal sill 100, while the outer cutter frame shaft 47 is supported in bearingsfsecured to one of the outer longitudinalsills 10 and to a supplemental, channel iron bracket 50, whose opposite ends are suitably secured to the front transverse sill 11 and to the said outer, longitudinal sill 10. livoted to rthese co-axial cutter frame shafts 47 and 470 is a cutter frame, which is thereby constrained to swing in a vertical frame of the machine.

This cutter frame receives a considerable strain while inuse and hence is preferably of box formv and suitably trussed to prevent distortion, the same being preferably' constructed 'as follows: f,

Arranged against the outerside of and close-to the adjacent longitudinal sill 10 is an inclined, outer cutterfframe beam 51 which is of curvedrform, as shown in the drawings. Arranged parallel to this inclined beamvl is another or companion inclined cutterk frame beam 510, which is situated between the said longitudinal outer sill 10 and the intermediate longitudinal sill 100 andis disposedcomparatively close to the latter and 4is guided in its vertical movement by avertical cutter frame guideA 52 which sill 10Q` and bears against the. outer face` of said inner, inclined beam 510.v IThese two companion inclined "beams are transversely tied together and braced 'by means of an upper, end tie bar 53 andan intermediate lOWer tie bar 53D; To the for.- ward ends of said inclined cutterv beams 51 and y510 are secured, uprightstruts 54 and 54() which 'are centrally pivoted to the aforedescribed cutter frame shafts 47 `and 470, These'uprightstruts are suitably connected together by upper and lower tie bars and 550, respectively, and are suit; ablyrv braced. or stiffenedpby diagonal truss bars 155 in a mannerv common to this form of construction and similar to the manner in which ordinary truss bridges are constructed, *Thel upper extremities of these struts 54 and 540 are connected to the forward upper ends of a pair of inclined bracey barfs`56k and 560 whose'lower rear ends are secured. respectively'to the upper faces of the cutter'frame beams 51 and 510, andare suitably 'tied together by a transverse tie bar 57 and also provided with suitable truss bars 57O'Ato 'preventl twisting strains from distorting tliecutter frame. i

Journaledinvbearings Y58` and 580. on. the main cutter framebeams 51 and510, asbest shown in, r2, is adtransversely disposed cuttershaftl) whose inner end is provi-ded with. a sprocketwheel 590. The latter. is

power driven by a chain belt 601.` whose forward" turn engages with a comparatively frame n large sprocket wheel 611 which is journaled on the lnner, cutter `frame shaft 170, and is thereb arranged "co-axially with respect to the wiole cutter frame.- In, other ywords, the distance between the axes of the sprocket 590f and the large sprocket 611 never changes, irrespective of the position of the cutter frame. Secured in any suitable manner to the comparatively large sprocket wheely 611 is a comparatively small sprocket wheel 62 which is driven by a chain belt 63 Whose rear, turn engages with a driving sprocket 64. ,The latter is mounted on a transverse, cutter-driving, stub shaftY 65 whichl is suitably Y journaled on the main frame of the-machine in a transversely disposed suitable bearing block. 'The inner end of this stub shaft carries a bevel pinion gear which is adapted to engage with a bevel gearv 66; that is slidably mounted on thehigh speed-jack shaft 3l, said bevel gear 6,6 being adapted-,to be thrown into or out of engagement `with-the said ybevelfpinion of the stub shaft 65 by means of a cutter operating shift lever`67. c When thesaid shift lever has been moved forwardly into the position shown in .the drawings, then'. power from the prime i mover 27 is transmitted to the hereinbeforementionedY cutter shaft 59, whereas when said shift rlever 67 ismoved rearwardly, then no power is transmitted to the aforesaid cutter shaft. It is understood, of course, that in `thefactual, machine, every one of the manually operated, lpower-controlling levers operates to vcontro the flow of power throughja friction and not ja gpositive clutch, but, in the drawings, empirical and more graphic clutchesor power controlling appa-- ratus are illustrated (as for instance, the shi-ftable bevel gear 66,), inasmuch as `these detailsxform no part ofthe present invention, Aand the drawings aremore easilyunderstood where thesedetails are shown in empirical form.k .f Y

` Slidably splined on thecutter' shaft 59 is a cutter sleeve 68 whose inner end is providedv witha cutter shift collar'159 while the outer, end yof said sleeve'carriesl an abrasive'cutter or rotatableL grinder 60 which is kadapted to cut into orr grind off the surface of the' paving or the curbing upon which it is operating. Thiscutter lis adapted to be adjustably shifted horizontally and longitudinally onthe shaft 59y by vmeans of Va cutter-shifting lever `61 whose .lower bifurcatediend. is provided with, inwardly eX- tendingshift studs whichengage with the aforesaid cutter shift collar 159. Centrally this cutter-shifting lever 61 is pivoted at 610 to the lower tie bar 530 of the cutter frame, while its upper, rear end carries a tooth or upwardly-extending detent finger 62, which is adapted to engage with any one of a number of transversely disposed teeth of a shifting lever segment 63. The latter nectedy with the shift collar 15.9 and with its central pivotl610that the rear end-of said vcutter-shifting lever tends constantly `to `resilientlyv moveupwardly. To disengage said lever, it ismerely necessary for the operator to press downwardly upon the rear end of said lever, whereupon he isr enabled tomove thesame transversely one way or the other until he has suitably, transversely positioned the rotatable cutter 60 relatively to the machine` proper. `The operator then relieves said cutter-shifting lever of its downward pressure, which permits the rear end of the same, byrreason of its resilience, vto spring upwardly into j engagement with a suitable adjacent tooth ofthe segment 63.

Where the asphalt "pavement, whiclris beingV cut or kground ofhis comparatively hard'` or granular, Vthe ,rotatable cutter 60, is preferably as shown inthe drawings, com.- posed of an abrasive material,l such as carborundum, coarse sandstone or the like. ln very hot YsummerWeather', however, or when the pavement .is very homogeneous, ksoft-and sticky, it is preferable to4 replace' the carborundum wheel with a hardened steel, toothed, milling cutter, the peripheral edge ofthe same beingof the same cross section aslthat of the abrasive wheel shown inthe drawings,i. e'. of V vshaped cross'section. But in either case, there is always present the tendency ofthe asphalt to clog or gum upthecutting edges of the cutter (for the cutting action of the milling cutter is identicalwithy that of thekabrasive `wheel except asto the sizeof the cutting tooth)- Consequently, it has been found necessary in practice, to meet this condition if themachine is to be` usedy continuously. Thisv is accomplished by enclosing the upper periphery of the `rotatable cutterA 60 in aA hood 65 which is supplied` with a small but constantand suicient amount of naphtha gasoline, kerosene orothersuitable hydrocarbon solvent.

cutter and the lower side walls of said hood bear against the opposite end faces of said cutter. The hood is prevented from any tendency to tip or to move circumferensoy llU

tially with said cutter, by reason of a torque link G9 whse forward end is pivoted to the upper, rear corner of said yhood and whose rear end is loosely pivotedto an adjacent portion of the cutter frame.

The whole cutter frame is, as described, capable of a vertical movement relatively to Jthe inain fra-me of the machine. The relative' psition thereof is adjusted in the following manner: l Y

Pivot'ed t its front end to the under, rear side f the inclined outer Vcutter-'frame bearn 51 is a depressing lever 7 0, lwhose eXtreme e'ar end is provided with a suitable handle so 'as to enable the operatr of the machine to conveniently either raise or depress the said lever. Passing slidably through ythe ysaid inclined bea-m 51 and through the said depressing lever 70, is abolt 71 whose head bears against theV lower face of said depressA` inglever. A. very stid compression spring 7 2 is interposed between the nut of said bolt and the upper, adjacent face of the inclined beam 51. Rearwardly of said compression spring, said depressing lever 70 is provided with a T-shaped retaining dog 73 whose lwer end or arm is pivoted to said lever and whose rear end or arm is subjected to resilient upward pressure by reason of a small eompr'ession spring 74 which is inter'- pos'ed between said rear arm and the upper.

face of said depressing lever 70. The tip or the nose of the 'upper arm of saidfretaining dog 73 is adapted to engage with any ene of a plurality of square-shaped notches ofan arcuate, depressing lever segment 75, which is suitably secured and braced to the main frame of the machine.

IInvoperating the machine, the operator 'steers the same by means of the tiller arm 26 and controls the forward speed and reverse by means of levers 36 and 360, and regulates the amount lof the speed by shifting lever 38. For very high forward speeds, as when going to the job from the -plant,` he couples up clutch 35 by shifting lever 34 Vand uncouples the planetary transmission by moving the remote lever 43. When he is ready to commence the cutting operation, he `shifts lever 67, lwhich causes the rotary cutter 60 to rotate lon yits axis; 1f the cutter tends to gum up, he turns the fluid valve 68 'and permits a 'suiiicient amount of hydrocarbon solvent frointhe tank 67 to drip onto the -rotaryjcutten If he wishesto adjustably rnv'e the cutter transversely, v'he presses upon the rear lend of the cuttereshifting lever Grwhich causes the 'same to become disengaged from its toothed segment G3. Then when the said lever has been properly shifted, it automatically returns to engagement with the said segment. The whole cutter frame and rotary cutter are raised or depressed by disengaging' the retaining dog f'f'o l v la and moving the,y depressing lever 70. Vhen the cut is first being started, the operator' is*` not obliged to press down upon this depressing lever for' any considerable period. Instead he forcibly pushes downwardly the depressing lever 7 0 against the pressure of the spring 72 vand then allows the dog 73 to snap into an adjacent notch of the segment 7 5.- This will cause the downward pressure on the rotary cutter to be maintained so longas the stored-up pressure in the said spring 72 lasts. The'` curved frame beam 51 is restrained yagainst lateral move- -nient by engagementgof this 'beam with the adjacent longitudinal sill 10 of the main frame of the machine. Where therpavement is very soft and sticky but without an excessive amount of -sand or grit embedded therein, it is desirable to replace the rotary grinder bya toothed milling cutter. In either case, however,- the cut made inthe pavement is of V shape, so that the clogging of the cutter is reduced to a minimum. It is obviousl also that this machine may be used; not only for cutting slits in the pave; ment, but 'also for trimming or grinding off rough knobs, corners of protuberances which proje'cteither from the pavement or from the curbing which bounds the pavement or from suchcut stones as are commnly employed next to the rails of city Where the machine is to street tracks. y be used as a cold surfacer (that is to dress down or `smooth the finished street) it is of course prefer-able to use 'a much wider abrasive wheel 'than that shown in the drawings, which is only suitable for removing 'comparatively small protuberances.

I claim 'as my invention: y' A. rotary tasphalt cutter comprising a portable chassis, fa cutter frame, a cutter shaft jonrn'aled thereon, a power driven rotatable cutter longitudinally slidable on said cutter shaft, 'a hood which receives aportion of the periphery/of said cutter and which is arranged to Vmove longitudinally with said cutter, a torque link pivoted at opposite ends tosaidl 'hoodand to the cutter frame, and means lfor supplying 'said hood with liquid.

n FRANK V. E. BARDOL. 

